Here's another one of my thai ranchu. I bought her on 25-Feb-2004 from Seah for $35. She was about 2 1/2 inches and a little over 3 months later she's is slightly over 5 inches. She's a Tie Bao Jing (Red/Black) but the black colouring comes and go which I find rather frustrating. It goes away whenever I put her in a filtered tank, yet quickly comes back once she returns to green water. I don't know why except maybe clear water is more stressful for her.

Above is her "baby" photo taken while she's still in the bag from the LFS. She's the one at the back with black markings on her body.

This is her today. She's NOT full of eggs; I pressed her relatively firm tummy while taking the photos, and nothing came out! It's would be like asking a fat woman on the street if she's pregnant, I guess.

Now you know why this colour combination, black/red, is known as Tie Bao Jin (铁包金) like liquid gold cooling down.

Above are photos of she swimming in a glass tank. She swims and floats level. Unlike most goldfish, she loves mealworms; I throw a couple in when I steal some from a neighbour. She lives in the same tub, enjoy the same upbringing as the ranchu in GA007 (which don't touch mealworms.)